She was intending to play at the college level but that dream ended with a significant injury her senior year at Bellefontaine High School.

The injury led her to study athletic training as an undergraduate at Otterbein University and then earn a master’s in exercise science at Syracuse University.

Along her educational journey, she began to study yoga and found it more to her liking than typical exercise regimes.

“I found I couldn’t keep doing high impact and high intensity workouts,” the 27-year-old owner of Homegrown Yoga said. “But I’ve found that within my yoga practice I can get the intensity without the harm.”

For her, regular yoga also enhances her mindfulness, relieves stress and provides moments of personal discovery.

Passaro has returned to Bellefontaine after living in Columbus where she led yoga classes. She opened her business in a loft above Hickory Medical, 208 W. Columbus Ave., just this month.